>50 Death Row Prisoners Involved in the Riots at Ghezel Hesar Prison Transferred to Evin Prison

Saturday March 26th, 2011 – HRANA reports that on Thursday March 24th, 2011, 50 death row prisoners involved in the riots at Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj were transferred to Evin prison.

It looks as though judicial authorities have transferred these death row prisoners to Evin in order to carry out their sentence. The riots at Ghezel Hesar prison began on March 11th 2011 when prisoners in Ward 2 protested against carrying out execution sentences against 10 death row prisoners. It has been reported that 150 prisoners were seriously injured as a result of bullets fired by prison guards. Of the 150 injured, reports point to 80 fatalities. Sources closely associated with the ruling government however are reporting on 47 injuries and fatalities, a dramatically lower number than that reported by non government sources.

According to the Head of Prison Organizations in Iran, Ghezel Hesar is the largest prison in the country, housing 20,000 prisoners, 13,000 of whom are incarcerated on drug related charges.

It is worth mentioning that immediately after the riots, Amnesty International published a statement demanding an immediate investigation into the killings at Ghezel Hesar prison.